Everything is relative. While the Nets had only their second sellout of the season last night – and the bad weather definitely kept several thousands of seats empty – chief executive officer Lou Lamoriello said the crowds have been “outstanding” compared to last year.

“Like everyone else, we’d love to see a sellout every night. You do everything you possibly can,” Lamoriello said. “If anyone has suggestions, we’re open to them. We’re doing everything. There are so many things you can do.”

The Nets are fifth from the bottom in attendance, averaging just 13,882, despite their success and their perch atop the Atlantic Division. That is still an improvement from where they were.

Lamoriello says the team has gotten as much recognition as possible and feels the crowds will pick up, as they historically do for successful teams in basketball and hockey, as the season progresses.

“You can see there’s a lot been done in every area,” Lamoriello said. “You can’t get more recognition than what [media outlets] have given the team in terms of publicity. As far as getting out to the community and everything, you’ve seen the billboards and [work with] chambers of commerce . . . You can just do so much other than give tickets away and that’s something we won’t do.”

Lamoriello noted the significance of last night’s game – hey, being chosen to play on a national TV Christmas game says something. And the Nets gave the national audience an eyeful with a 36-point rout of Boston.

“There’s no question with the significance of it, it’s something special. It’s something special for a team to be recognized for what they’ve done,” he said.

And on the one single issue that dwarfs all others in importance to the Nets and their fans, Lamoriello stated the obvious – it is important to keep Jason Kidd when he becomes a free agent after the season.

“I don’t think there’s any question what Jason Kidd has brought to the organization or the team but that’s not something I want to get into any discussions on. I’ll leave that to Rod [team president Thorn],” he said.